What to do about Christmas bauble tradition…

[Xm4smad]

Before I had children I decided that every year I would buy a bauble and put it away for them to have when they move out. I started by picking baubles that were relevant to the year (first year I got my son a sheep bauble as we sang ‘baa baa sheep’ about a million times to him, second I got him a bear to signify his first word. Now he’s at an age he could probably pick something himself so do I;
a) continue to choose something myself that’s relevant to the year
b) let him choose his own, but have a little note about the year.
c) just give up now - he won’t care about them or want them when he’s older.

I think it’s a lovely idea. If you’re not using them now I would do A. It might be confusing for him if you take him to pick one out and then say he can’t use it until he moves out.

C. Sorry! However - my mum was a massive lover of Christmas and when she died I asked for her “special” decorations and I hang them on my tree every year. So while this may not land as you imagined, the future may be different!

They are going to meet someone who wants a colour theme for their tree and they will get binned. Sorry op. Its a lovely idea but ...

Jeez mine will be about 40 before they are even vaguely 'settled' with their own trees. And they will not want whatever sentimental things mean something to me now.

My mother foists this kind of stuff on me and I resent it hugely. Do it for yourself and offer it if they want it - but otherwise, no!

We didn't have an 'every year' tradition but over the years we bought our boys special baubles for this and that. DS1 has never even had a Xmas tree to put them on, even after he married, so I still have them. DS2 doesn't have his own place yet, but I can't see him putting up a tree either. To tell the truth, I can't see a grown man fondly hanging a 'Baby's First Year' bauble on a tree in his bachelor pad. Maybe it would be different for a DD.

You can see the future MN thread...

It's my first Christmas with DP and he's just shown me 24 baubles his DM gave him. They mean nothing to me and I want to bin them but his DM will be devastated. What should I do?

OMG, that really made me laugh. Hmmm, maybe that's why DS1 and DiL have never had a tree. (not)

I think it’s lovely op. We didn’t do it every year but they did take special decorations when they left home. Dd couldn’t cope without my favourite decoration but it’s hers now as she took that with her special ones!

My ds is 18 and loves decorating the tree. I have bought him a tree decoration each year since he was born and still do. He has chatted about taking them to decorate his own tree one day.

i love it but I’m a non coordinated tree person! I get at least a bauble every year either from my parents/sister/partner and I love getting them out and unwrapping them. Absolutely love the mismatched bauble and the sillier for me the better. I’m not one for colour themes etc. so yea I would absolutely love it, I have baubles on my mum and dads tree that I had and when I got my own home I still wanted it on their tree my sister has hers at her own home.

Nope. Things that mean something all the way. I have grandparents baubles. Things my mum used to put on hers. Things that parents have bought us. Things from holidays. New things DD has chosen when we go for our festive mooch round the garden centre.

Love getting them out each year and remembering where they came from.

I have baubles on my tree that used to hang on our tree when we were kids. They are quite 70s and i feel warm and fuzzy inside hanging them each year as they bring back wonderful memories.

Put them on the tree each year with him and let him learn their stories.
From now on he chooses his own.

My kids are adult and know the stories of each of their annual baubles
but still come home to hang them on my ceiling hitting tree !

Some of MY ones on the tree came from my mother, grandmother and great grandmother.
(there is no colour theme AT ALL)

And the answers.

They mean something to him, don't be a terrible partner.

Be grateful your MIL isn't trying to move in.

Just bin them, he won't notice.

Who cares about MILs feelings?

Ugh you want matching? What a snob.

We started doing this but they lost interest by the time they were about 10 and I started forgetting who's was who's and finding it too much hassle. We do have very random and sentimental baubles and they do still choose a new one occasionally but the main part of our tradition now is going to the farm and cutting our own tree down. I wouldn't have wanted random decorations from my childhood when I first had my own home, part of the fun was choosing new ones myself but I might keep the odd one from my childhood when my parents are no longer with us.

I'm B. Mine are older teens now but they still like choosing a new decoration each year, they love getting all their old ones out and laughing at the eldest's tacky taste. I don't care if they don't want them as adults, it's been a nice tradition.

We went to a pottery painting place each year to paint one, when they were little. Would that work?

My tree is a collection of baubles we chose together, xmas painted paper baubles they made at school, baubles I bought for myself from meaningful places and now my adult kids have started their own tradition of buying the ugliest/weirdest bauble they find and adding it to the tree. It's a glorious mismatch of cute insane and weird things and I love it.
Do it for yourself, but unless he asks keep them for your tree

When I became an adult with my own Christmas tree my mum said I could choose one of the family baubles to take with me. I also enjoyed choosing a small number to keep once my parents died. As a child, I liked the fact that there was a bauble on the tree that was "mine" (in fact it wasn't the one that I chose to take with me, but I did hang onto it later). However, if I'd been given a whole set of 18 baubles chosen by her at that age I wouldn't really have wanted them I don't think. I wanted to choose my own!. And if I hadn't grown up with them on the tree I'd have been even less interested. Similarly, I'm sure my daughter would like to take a small number of ours at some point, but not a while pre-chosen collection. And I think my son would be even less interested.

Let him pick one, but put them on your tree.

I liked starting from scratch with DH and wouldn't have wanted either of us coming with stuff - I had to talk his mum down from buying them all! (Not the MIL from hell, just generous and loves Christmas, she did listen.)

Like others, we pick one on each holiday.

We tend to buy a decoration every time we go away. It's nice to get them out each year and reminisce. Our glass baubles are antique and super- tasteful, whereas these holiday ones are a, little more kitsch.

We've just got back from Edinburgh where we bought a tartan highland cow by playing the bagpipes (obvs) and probably my favourite ever, a black and gold plague doctor. Just in case you also feel you need one.

My first Christmas in my first flat I bought I was so excited to do my own tree just how I wanted it. I would not have wanted a bunch of someone else’s old baubles. I wanted to choose my own

Doesn’t everyone decorate the tree as a family and discuss the memories behind each bauble?